A New Dawn
by TheDayYouSaidGoodnight
Summary: AU fic, Oneshot. When Zuko finds a wounded young Fire Nation child in the forests of the Earth Kingdom, things are sure to change. As they discover each other's past, they realize that their need of love from siblings starts here. Rated for swearing.


This was the fic I've been talking about in my profile. If you don't know about it, check my profile out now before you read this. This is a one-shot but if you want some more chapters give a review and add your request in. I know you guys are kind…help me out. This is rated for potty-mouthed exiled princes.

Disclaimer: Well, we all know that Avatar: The Last Airbender does not belong to me.

* * *

It all starts with a silent night in an Earth Kingdom house. Its owners were wealthy and had many servants. Unfortunately, the servants' employers were cruel and heartless. When their whim was not followed, even if it was wrong, they would be whipped or tortured but if they were lucky, they would just be scolded. But the only ones who did not torture them were the mother, the children and the aunt. Anyone else would punish them severely. This is what happened to an unfortunate servant girl in the midst of broken porcelain dinnerware.

"You idiot! Those were priceless antiques! Don't you know how much they cost? You deserve a good beating!" the father, a nobleman cracked his whip and started to lash on her. She held her tears back as blood oozed from her wounds. Even her wrists were hit. The other servants wanted to protect her but they were afraid to get wounds too.

"No, master! Please! I tried my best to clean the china cabinet without breaking what's inside. Stop now, master. It hurts so much," a young girl, about the age of nine, screamed as the lashing of a whip hit her delicate skin. Had the man no heart to strike a young child?

She had wavy black hair, glittering gold eyes, fair skin. She was blessed with outstanding intelligence, patience and perseverance but she cannot take the beating any longer. She wore a brown robe, which was slightly torn and messy. It was like a kimono with very short sleeves. She wasn't from the Earth Kingdom and not even the servants knew this.

The master of the house grabbed the girl by her bleeding wrist and led her to the main door. "Get out and stay out!" he said as threw a bag at her and slammed the door in a huff. It contained her possessions.

"Let me in!" she banged on the door until her fists were swollen. When nobody opened the door, she ran until her short legs can take her. She stopped into a far away forest with a crystal clear stream. She fell on the grass, tired. She cried and then her tears mixed with blood. She remembered the time that she was still living in the Fire Nation, cared for until bad news arrived.

"_This message is for the Hibashira clan." The postman told the servant as he saw the house with the seal of the Flame Pillar. Hibashira meant "Pillar of flames" and they adapted a flaming pillar as their symbol. The servant hurriedly knocked on the lady of the house's bedroom and bowed as he gave her the scroll. Lady Tenka was in tears as she read the scroll. Her ancestry may have been from the divine lightning but she softened. She was a firebender out of lightning, a fire caused by lightning._

_She went to the room of her husband, Lord Rekka, who had a bad temper like a raging fire. As soon as the master of the house read it, he frowned. It said that the person was threatening against his daughter, his only daughter after three sons, and his beloved child, Lady Ruika._

_As soon as Ruika's brothers knew about this, they were in a state of deep depression. She was only seven, innocent, kind, playful and such an understanding sister. She could already firebend but only the basics. She was a spreading fire, always kind and warm, hence her name. When a member of the Hibashira family's life was threatened, the person had to leave the residence and live on their own. They had no choice. Ruika had to do it. Lady Tenka told Ruika to pack some of her things and go to her brother, Kaen._

"_Ruika, let's go out on a walk." Kaen, her brother said, with a smile on his face but inside, he was so hurt. His two younger brothers, Kasei, Hiashi and his parents looked at him and nodded. "Okay, Kaen! Where will we go now?" "Just close your eyes, Ruika." Kaen was a person of fire and smoke, and that's what his name meant._

_Without Kasei, the brother whose name meant "force of the flames", Kaen wouldn't do it. Kasei had to force him to do it, knowing the threat on his sister's life. Hiashi was the spreading of the fire and he contributed to Ruika's kind and loving attitude. He nominated that he bring her to the Earth Kingdom even if his heart was as heavy as lead._

_He led Ruika into a port, and took her inside a ship going to the Earth Kingdom. "Wait here, Ruika! I'm going to buy something." Kaen said, running down the deck and returning to the seaport. He put a letter and a bag of coins in his sister's pocket as he left._

_He never came for her but when Ruika opened her eyes, she went into her pockets and dug out a letter and a bag of money. She read the letter and cried. A young lady, a peasant returning home to the Earth Kingdom saw her crying. She took her and lived with her. She was actually on a day-off from her duties as a servant. She took Ruika into the household she worked for and had to lie that she needed a job just for the poor child to be safe. Stupid war, the older girl thought. And that's how Ruika came to work in that horrid house._

Because of her wounds and tiredness, the young girl lay on the cold, hard ground. She had cried herself to sleep that night. She made her bag her pillow for that night. The moon and the stars frowned to see a girl, all alone in the cruel world, especially in wartime. Their light shone on the stream below.

A few hours later…

The feet of an ostrich horse was heard in the distance in that same forest. A raven-haired stranger was riding on it and he had a large burn on his left eye. His golden orbs shone like mirrors in the dark as he grunted. He was alone, trying to look for his uncle, and trying to look for the Avatar.

"At least I came upon a forest where there's a stream and some grass but I still have to find the Avatar!" Zuko dismounted his ostrich horse, took off his hat and tied it on the reins of his traveling companion, his bird steed.

He saw his reflection in the clear water and almost wanted not to see it but reality check, water has a smooth surface so you can see yourself in it. He scooped up some of the precious liquid in his hands and flung it to his face. The water was icy cold and he drunk some of it afterwards.

In the distance, he saw a figure lying down on a small bulk. _Who could be sleeping here at this time? Doesn't the person know that thieves and creatures wander here? I'll just see who it is._ He thought. His ostrich horse whinnied, telling him not to stray. As he came closer to the figure, he realized from the small frame that the person was a child. He knelt down near and knew that it was a girl about eight or nine years of age. He saw her arms, wounded, not even a single wound healed. He figured that a whip caused it. As he brushed off the jet-black hair covering her face, her face was pale as the cold moonlight but she was angelic. He raised one of her eyelids and her eyes were gold. _Could she be a firebender?_ He thought because she was a firebender in looks.

In his stone-cold heart, he suddenly felt pity. It ached, really. He remembered himself by just seeing the poor child. He was scarred, wounded, banished. He carried her and took her bag carefully so as not to break her fragile form and mounted her on his ostrich horse.

Later…

Zuko had found his way out of the forest and into the city. Upon his arrival, the first thing he saw was an inn. _Finally! Some rest!_ He thought. He again dismounted his ostrich horse, carried the girl on his back and led his steed to a stable. He went inside the inn.

"Do you have a room left?" the banished prince asked. "You're very lucky sir, there's one room left on the second floor. How many days will you stay?" the receptionist asked. "Two nights." He bluntly answered. "Here are your keys. Is that girl your sister?" "_I have to lie even if I don't want to. I could be charged of kidnapping!_ Yes, she is my sister!" he lied. "She's pretty. She must have taken after you." The receptionist blushed as she looked again on his face. He took the keys and led the young girl upstairs.

As he went upstairs, he saw that his clothes were slightly messy with the child's blood. "Oh damn." He muttered. When he went inside the room, he lay the child down on the bed, hung the keys in a hook near the doorway and took off his hat.

He went inside the bathroom to look for bandages in the cabinet. He opened the storage cabinet and was fortunate to find some. There were also some guava leaves, which were a powerful antiseptic. Zuko scratched his head and couldn't find a small basin. He slipped on a metal object but kept his balance. He found out that they were 2 stainless steel basins.

He put water in both of them and looked silly as he exited the bathroom. He had two basins with water in his hands, one cold, one warm, a roll of bandages wrapped on his wrist, a towel on his hair and a small bag of guava leaves between his lips.

"Oh no, I hate this job." He looked upon Ruika and had mercy on her forlorn face. He squeezed the small towel in the first basin and wiped off the blood. When he had dried the blood off, he dumped the towel into the basin and the water became redder than ever. He took another small towel and washed it in the warm water with the guava leaves.

_This might sting but please, try not to wake up to soon!_ He thought, as he applied the towel with the antiseptic on her arms. _Her other body parts weren't wounded. She must have tried to defend herself with her arms. _As he wiped the towel on her wound, she didn't squirm, even though she was breathing. One thing about sleeping is that you're numb. After cleaning all her wounds, he wrapped some bandages on her arms. He used his broadswords to cut the bandages so that they would be enough on her wounds.

"I'm done at last." He said after cleaning up and seeing the child in good condition. He opened the windows slightly to let the air in. It was a cool night, and the child would sleep well. There were two beds in that room, facing the window. There was a large space between them. She was sleeping on one of them, so he slept on the other one. But before finally dozing off, he removed his sleeveless brown tunic and wrapped it on the girl. He pulled the white sheets on her and he slept in his own bed, tired like her.

Late that night…

Ruika woke up that night because of a nightmare. She shivered and paled until she saw an oversized brown tunic wrapped around her. She expected to feel pain but she didn't feel it. Her wounds were wrapped with bandages and she was not in the forest, she was in an inn. She rose up from the white sheets and wanted to run but she thought about the stranger at the other bed.

She went up to the sleeping stranger and looked at him. He was tall and lean. His hair was jagged and his bangs almost crossed his eyes. A large scar covered his pale face. His hair was black and the surprisingly fragrant smell of his locks enticed her. _Thank you, stranger. I still wonder how you got that scar. I don't know what you'll look like without it but I think you're handsome and if you found out that I'm Fire Nation, will you turn me over? I hope not! _She stroked his cheek and held her own cheek against his, feeling his warmth.

He wasn't facing the wall, he was facing her but his eyes were closed. She raised his eyelid gently and softly and saw his golden eyeball darting back and forth. She released the eyelid. _Maybe he is Fire Nation; maybe he's the prince that was burned by his father. The darkness is just tricking me! His eyes might not be gold. Oh well, I'll just see tomorrow! _She innocently climbed up the exiled prince's bed as he faced the wall. She lay beside him and embraced him to thank him.

The next morning…

Zuko woke up as the sun spread its rays into the sleeping city. He closed his eyes then opened them as he stood up. He was surprised to see the child tugging at his arm like as if he was a security blanket. He took her hand off his arm and looked around at her bed. He pulled his tunic out and wore it on his body. He didn't wear his shoes. Thank God that her bandages were still on. He opened the window to let the sunlight in. It was his element. The sun seemed happy to see him.

He folded the sheets and blankets and pulled off the blanket from the child to fold it. He looked at the child, smiling in her dreams. He ran his fingers on his black hair and waited until breakfast was served.

The child woke up. "Excuse me, stranger? Why am I here?" she asked, "I saw you lying helplessly in the forest that's why I brought you here." He said. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she hugged him and wrapped her arms around him tightly. He tried to pry her off but to no avail. She loosened her grip as they sat on the chairs on the balcony.

"So from where do you come from, stranger?" Ruika asked, "Promise you won't tell? _Damn Zuko, damn. Why the fuck are you entrusting your nationality to a kid? You might be turned over!_" "Promise!" she said, "I'm from the Fire Nation, please don't turn me in!" she added, "Why didn't you say so? I'm from the Fire Nation too. Okay, so I'm the prince the whole world had been talking about because my father burned me." _Okay, that went well._

"I'm Lady Ruika from the Hibashira clan! My father is Rekka, my mom is Tenka, and my three elder brothers are Kaen, Kasei and Hiashi. I'm nine years old." Then she told him the whole story. "What's your name? I know who you are but I don't know your name!"

"Your story is quite touching. My name is Zuko, son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai, brother of Princess Azula, my sadistic, mean, twisted, evil sister. I have an uncle and I'm sixteen." He said, with an expressionless look. "What does sadistic mean?" Ruika innocently crossed her arms.

"It means a person who loves inflicting harm on other people." "What does inflict mean?" "To bring upon." "Ohhh. May I call you Zuzu?" The child said. Their little chitchat was interrupted when an employee left a two trays of food on the floor. Prince Zuko groaned, _Great, Azula comes to me in the form of a little kid. I expect that this child could be bossy, she's a noblewoman turned servant and still try to act like a noble._ "No." he answered blatantly. "Oh, how about Zukie?" "It sounds like "Suki" and I don't like it. Just stick to the Zuko, please?" "Oh, okay! Can I please annoy your sister until she has high blood pressure?" she said as she got her tray of food. _Oooh…I like this girl. _"It would be my utmost pleasure if you did." He said, daydreaming of torture devices.

The prince followed suit and they ate. They sat on the floor, with a small table in between them. "Can you please give me some tea, Zuko?" "Sure, but let it cool first."

Hot and steamy tea came out of the teapot and into her cup. She pathetically tried to pick rice up with chopsticks but her companion was doing well. She tried to do what he did and surely, she learned to pick up rice with chopsticks.

After breakfast, she drank her cup of tea. "Blehh! This tea is cold and tastes like nothing!" Ruika said, spitting her tea into the bathroom sink. "Well, let's firebend it, Ruika!" Zuko said, "Great idea!" "Ssshhh, we don't want anyone to know about this, okay?" Ruika could keep a secret anyway. They placed their hands on the porcelain teapot and concentrated their energies to make some heat.

Zuko made a small amount of heat so that Ruika could add a bit of hers too. When some steam came out, they took off their hands and poured the tea. Ruika inhaled the vapor and smiled. She drank the tea with the banished prince.

It was so good when warm. She remembered her brother Kaen when he was 12 and she was 7. He always tried to reserve tea for her but her other brothers Kasei, who was once 11 and Hiashi who was once 10, would drink the tea before Kaen could give it to Ruika. It was a harmless joke and Kaen would patiently make some of her favorite mint tea. It had been two years since she had experienced that.

"I really want to firebend since were done eating." "You know we can't firebend here, Ruika! We'll get arrested!" Zuko exclaimed. "I don't know what I'll do but I'm still bored." Ruika said and she saw a sword, or as she thought it to be, in a scabbard and decided to play with it.

She pulled out the twin blades and found out that they were two swords. "Wow! Shiny and pointy!" she smiled as she made one of the daos shimmer in the sunlight. Upon hearing the word "pointy", Zuko sprang up and his jaw dropped as he saw her playing with his broadswords.

"What the fuck are you doing with my swords!" he swore. _Oh no, her parents will kill me if she uses it!_ He thought. "I'm bored, and you shouldn't be having a potty mouth. You may be a prince but your mouth is like a sailor's." Ruika said, sheathing the broadswords and crossing her arms.

"Look, I'm sorry but those are too dangerous for you." He ruffled her soft black hair as she gave him back the broadswords. "Why don't you get your stuff, go take a bath and come out with some fresh clothes on. By the way, you can take off the bandages; your wounds must've healed by now." The child obliged and pulled out her bag from the closet and a large towel.

The little girl made sure that she didn't waste water. She tried to firebend her bathing water but she failed. Anyway, at least be clean rather than not. After bathing, she dried herself and covered up with a towel. She took out her clothes. They were all beautiful dresses she once owned when she still lived in the Fire Nation. Almost all of them were red or black except for a yellow hanbok that she found in the storage room of their house one time. She quickly chose it and got dressed quickly.

She made a small fire float around her head, about a meter radius. Her hair dried quickly and she tied it into a neat topknot, with a black and gold ribbon tied on it. The wounds on her arms have healed.

When she went out, she went out with her dirty clothes and the towel. Prince Zuko smiled. A well-dressed child who is able to hide her identity in her robes is sensible enough. "Now you take a bath." The exiled prince smiled, took a brown shirt, black trousers and his maroon tunic. He firebended his bathing water before actually dipping in. After having a bath and putting his neat clothes on and drying his dripping hair, he went out of the bathroom clean and handsome.

"Wow, you're really a Fire Nation prince…in simple clothing. You remind me of my brother Kaen. He's really handsome…but you're much taller and better looking than him. I wish you didn't have that scar."

"This scar made me who I am." He said, sadly, "Oh, and can I call you big brother?" "Huh?" "My brothers are back in the Fire Nation but…I haven't known someone kind enough to save me." She said. "Don't worry, I'll be your big brother when you need me." He promised.

It was Zuko's promise until they had to part ways a day later. He promised to be her brother. She walked and journeyed around the Earth Kingdom to find the port that could bring her back to the Fire Nation. She did come back to the Fire Nation. A secret shipment of firewood to the Fire Nation was her vessel. She slipped past the customs and searched until she found her home.

When she did find her beautiful home, her mother was weeping at the doorway because she missed Lady Ruika so much. She put her arm on her mother's shoulder. When Lady Tenka found her daughter and verified that she truly was her daughter, Lord Rekka, Lady Tenka and their three other children Kaen, Kasei and Hiashi prepared a sumptuous feast for her. The would-be assassinator was found and arrested and they were safe.

As for Zuko, he still had to find the Avatar. But he never forgot the little child who changed the way he viewed being a big brother. He would discipline Azula when he finds her and maybe find Ruika and make her torture Azula. He would love to see it. He still had to find the Avatar but learning to love through a young child's eyes really surprised his uncle when he found him.

* * *

Please review!

-TDYSG


End file.
